Rare earth lamps are also known as tare earth phosphors which are refined from rare earth ore and are essential in creating white light from the ultraviolet (UV) radiation generated within fluorescent lighting.
Today, rare earths such as yttrium and cerium are used as carriers and terbium and europium as dopants and light emitters for the best phosphors.
Rare earth lamps or rare earth lights are used in everything from mobile phones and electric cars to medical equipment.
Neodymium is also the main light rare earth used in the creation of permanent magnets, which are heavily used in data storage systems and wind turbines.
Praseodymium is another significant light rare earth metal.
REEs with atomic numbers 57 to 63 are considered light REEs (LREEs) while those with atomic numbers 64 to 71 are considered heavy REEs (HREEs).
The REEs with an even atomic number are more abundant than REEs with an odd atomic, according to the Oddo-Harkins rule that describes proton pairing during star formation.
Phosphor-based LEDs are the most popular for manufacturing high-intensity white LEDs.
Phosphor in an LED is a phosphate mix that may contain manganese, rare earth elements such as lanthanum, and yttrium as either an oxide or a phosphate, along with barium/aluminum oxide.
Rare-earth elements (REEs) are used in lighting and optical applications to enable color and light adjustment, miniaturization, and energy efficiency.
Common applications of REEs include phosphors for light-emitting diodes, lasers, and electronic video displays.